Asmita, an organization that caters to the special needs of slow learners, is crippled by a cash crunch that makes it difficult for its founder, Dr Dutt, to balance the odds. Rahul Ray takes a took at the driving force behind the school and the inspiration that started it all. A doctor was traveling by train. Among his co-passengers were a lady, her son Anil, and daughter Asmita. The child kept pleading with her brother that she be allowed to play but Anil snubbed her saying that she was stupid and dull. Seeing the girl in tears, the doctor intervened only to learn that Asmita was a slow learner and in spite of being elder, was studying three classes below Anil.
The incident left a deep impression on the doctor’s mind and he resolved to do something noteworthy.
That doctor is Krishna Dutt, Clinical Psychologist, KGMC, Lucknow. Hailing from Sawayajpur village, Pali, Kanpur. After he passed his matriculation, his father, Yamuna Prasad told him, “If You want to earn your daily bread, you have the ancestral land in the village and there is no need to seek a job elsewhere.
However, if your aim is to selflessly Serve others, then you lookout for greener pastures.” The words adhered themselves to his memory. In 1989, he established Asmita- A centre for Slow Learners and Mental Health Care.
Dr Dutt says, ”As a youth, every child is an activist. But his or her Intelligence Quotient (IQ) differs. A child with an IQ level of 110 and above is called above average, 85-110 is average, 70-85 is dull, 50-70 is mildly retarded and below 50 is called disabled. It is the bracket of dull and mildly retarded children who are slow learners. They are neither normal nor handicapped.”
Most parents are in a fix when they learn their child is a slow learner, he reveals. If a child is sent to a sent to a school for the handicapped he or she tends to imitate the abnormalities of the children around him, whereas if enrolled in a normal school, an inferiority complex envelops the child. Faced with this dilemma, parents soliciting help would grope in the dark. Dr Dutt got the platform that he needed and, with his colleagues, established his school, catering to the needs of this special group of silent sufferers in 1989. Initially the school had only 2 students but now the strength has risen to 25. According to Dr. Dutt, “A good doctor is one who thrusts no treatment on the patient, instead encourages the patient to find the answers to the problems within himself or her-self. Psychological treatment varies from general treatment as it is individualistic, depending upon patient’s personality and temperament. Without imposing the solution, the patient is made aware of the cause and effect relationship. When the cause is known, the patient is taught to overcome the drawback by auto suggestion. For a therapy to succeed, there have to be two essentials: motivation of the client and devotion of the therapist.”
In the centre, a child is taught basics like article recognition, color distinction, reading, writing and minor calculations, all in a playful manner.
Sometimes, biofeedback, sleep therapy and stammer suppressors are also used. A fresher to the institute is first assessed to determine his or her IQ.
Observational remarks regarding the child’s speech problems, lack of concentration, hyperactivity, toilet habits, violent behavior, etc are recorded. A child can attend normal schooling after attending four months’ classes at the centre. The consultation committee includes a physician, pediatrician, psychiatrist, neurologist, speech therapist and physiotherapist.
There are four teachers, one of whom is Dr Dutt’s wife. When someone asked her, “How is she able to handle so many children?”, she replied. “Earlier there used to be large families. I just feel like the mother of a very large family!”
The most striking feature of the institute is that all its services are provided free, with funds being arranged by donations. The centre takes care of children in a two-fold manner. First, dealing with behavioral anomalies and secondly, educating them according to their abilities. There is also a van for communicating the children to and fro, the charges depending on the distance covered. And the petrol expenses are not obligatory on the parents.
However, Dr Dutt is sad that a majority of the references coming to his school are from the medical side whereas it should be forthcoming from the educational field. He says that the category of slow learners form nearly five to ten percent of all students. Noteworthy is the fact that a child of less than five years cannot be taught on a structured proforma. He wants this category to be identified and tackled separately.
Another problem area is the misconception in a layman’s mind that consulting a psychologist is very similar to going to a lunatic asylum. To overcome this barrier of ignorance Asmita organizes public awareness programmes and holds seminars. To propagate community awareness, two other centres have been set up in Kanpur and Swayajpur.
“My wife and daughter, Urvi, are deeply devoted to Asmita. So much so that my wife sold off her jewelry to provide funds. And, one day, on learning that there was dearth of cash, Urvi got her piggy bank and unhesitatingly, requested her mother to take all the money. After all, giving provides colossal pleasure.
The satisfaction that comes from knowing that a troubled mind, a fractured psyche and a tormented soul has healed with a little bit of help, is immense,” he adds.
The institute is one of its kind as stated by Prof Prabhat Sitholey, Professor in Child Psychology, KGMC, Lucknow. He says, “ To my knowledge, there is no other centre for slow learners in whole of India.”
As of today, it is facing shortage of funds and lack of space hinders further expansion. With no government aid forthcoming. Asmita is facing a bleak future.
Dr Dutt desires some kind of support as he feels the survival of the centre is at sake since Asmita which has given the children an identity may lose its own identity in the absence of urgent assistance.
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